Nobody likes being sprayed with toilet juice (we assume) – and yet every time we flush away our waste‚ those miracles of modern engineering suddenly turn into raging sewage volcanoes. “No problem‚” you might think‚ “my toilet comes with a fancy-pants lid‚ I can just close it!” Well‚ boy do we have bad news for you.“Closing toilet lids has no meaningful impact on preventing the spread of viral particles‚” said Charles Gerba‚ professor of virology at the University of Arizona and senior author of a recent study that measured the spread of viral particles by flushing a toilet.“Our study highlights the importance of regular disinfection of toilets to reduce contamination and prevent the spread of viruses‚” he said in a statement on the findings.That isn’t to say that closing your toilet lid while it flushes is a bad idea: multiple studies have shown that it’s good for containing the spread of bacterial pathogens‚ which tend to be bigger than their viral equivalents. Plus‚ you know‚ less poop and pee in the air is definitely a benefit.But when Gerba and colleagues seeded both public and home toilets with doses of a virus – the MS2 bacteriophage‚ a type of virus that infects bacteria‚ which is not dangerous to humans but acted as a proxy for all those other nasties that are – and gave them a flush‚ they found having the lid up or down gave no statistically significant difference in the amount of virus that ended up around the bathroom.“Our study demonstrated that lid position (up or down) prior to flushing of household or public toilets of United States design seeded with MS2 bacteriophage had no significant effect on the MS2 cross contamination of household restroom surfaces‚” notes the study. “MS2 was recovered from all restroom surfaces tested‚ and lid closure had no impact on the results.”What closing the lid did do‚ however‚ was to slightly redirect the spew. If you want‚ for some reason‚ to protect the bits of floor to the left and right in front of your toilet from getting quite so mucky‚ then don’t close the lid; if keeping the wall to the left clean is your priority‚ then shut it before you flush it.If you were eating while reading this then... sorry I guess? A schematic depiction of MS2 aerosolization and spread to adjacent areas after flushing a home toilet of U.S designImage Credit: Gerber et al.‚ 2024‚ (CC BY 4.0)Or wait‚ no‚ that’s bad advice. If you want to keep any area of your bathroom clean‚ then there’s actually something much better than just flushing and hoping for the best: disinfect it. Along with the bad news about pathogen spread‚ the study also had a silver lining – a review of the effectiveness of cleaning the toilet.“Cleaning of the toilet bowl with a disinfectant (formulated hydrochloric acid) and bowl brush in this study significantly […] reduced MS2 contamination of toilet bowl water‚ with >;4 log10 (>;99.99 percent) reduction‚ compared to cleaning with a brush only‚” the study confirms. “In addition‚ it was found that the toilet bowl brush itself was significantly […] less contaminated when a disinfectant product was used during cleaning. In this case‚ a 1.6 log10 (97.64 percent) reduction was observed.”In other words: if you don’t want to get sick – and frankly‚ we’re gonna just assume you don’t – clean your dang bathroom more often. The study is published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

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What worries you most about the idea of society collapsing? A post-SHTF world will hold many dangers‚ but for many preppers their biggest concern is looters. After all what’s the point of spending time and money gathering the supplies you need to survive a crisis‚ and then just when you do need them someone else […] The post 5 Types of Looters and How to Outsmart Them appeared first on Ask a Prepper.

Cybersecurity and the future of tech‚ dive into it in the episode with tech expert Dan Nowak. Our chat traverses the landscape of technology‚ its implications for personal and national security‚ and the societal shifts it engenders. Join us as we unravel the complexities of our increasingly connected world. The Cybersecurity Conundrum The Rise of Remote… The post Cybersecurity and the Future of Tech with Dan Nowak appeared first on Mind4Survival.

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The following article‚ Election Denier? Sore Loser ‘Tricky’ Nikki Haley Claims Trump Rigged Nevada Primary After She Loses To ‘None Of These Candidates’ (Video)‚ was first published on Conservative Firing Line. On Tuesday‚ Nikki Haley lost the Nevada GOP primary election to “none of these candidates” by more than 30 percentage points — 63 – 30‚ according to the New York Times.  Haley‚ who has been nicknamed “Tricky Nikki” by former President Donald Trump‚ responded angrily‚ claiming that her former boss‚ who was not on the … Continue reading Election Denier? Sore Loser ‘Tricky’ Nikki Haley Claims Trump Rigged Nevada Primary After She Loses To ‘None Of These Candidates’ (Video) ...

This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org. The Yellowstone Club‚ the elite resort near Big Sky that in the past has counted Bill Gates‚ Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel as members‚ has become the first ski area in Montana to turn wastewater into snow. And while skiing on what was once sewage might seem odd at first blush‚ resort officials and local conservation groups said it’s both safe and beneficial to the environment‚ especially during dry winters like this one‚ which has left some ski areas in the state shuttered. In fact‚ Richard Chandler‚ vice president of environmental operations for the Yellowstone Club‚ said recently that the new program to turn wastewater into snow is helping the resort open more runs than it otherwise might be able to this winter. “Without [snowmaking]‚ we’d be skiing on a lot less terrain‚” Chandler said. The new effort to use recycled water to increase the base layer of snow on Eglise Mountain follows a decade of collaboration between the resort and local environmental groups‚ plus a multi-year review by state regulators. It isn’t the first time the Yellowstone Club has found a new use for wastewater: For several years‚ it has been using recycled water to irrigate its golf course. Officials at the Yellowstone Club say that using wastewater to make snow has allowed the resort to open more terrain to skiers this winter. Courtesy of the Yellowstone Club In 2011‚ the Gallatin River Task Force‚ Yellowstone Club and DEQ studied whether wastewater could be used to make artificial snow to ski on. The idea was that as climate change made the region’s snowpack more unpredictable‚ they could serve skiers and the watershed by making snow from treated water that is traditionally just put into rivers and other bodies of water. That winter they successfully turned a half-million gallons of wastewater into two acres of snow about 18 inches deep. According to the Yellowstone Club‚ 12 ski areas in eight states‚ plus some in Canada‚ Switzerland and Australia‚ have used wastewater to make snow in the past. However‚ the practice hasn’t been without controversy. About a decade ago‚ a ski area near Flagstaff‚ Arizona‚ was sued by a local tribe over environmental concerns about turning wastewater into snow. The Hopi Tribe also alleged that the practice would desecrate a mountain it considered sacred. The tribe eventually lost in court‚ but during the dispute some environmental groups‚ including the Center for Biological Diversity‚ raised concerns about the impact the recycled snow might have on aquatic life in the area. But Chandler said that using recycled water to make snow treats the wastewater even more than it normally would be before being released into a river. By shooting it through the snowmaking equipment (it’s essentially misted onto the slopes as snow) the wastewater is treated again. Then‚ as it melts in the spring and enters the ground‚ it’s filtered a third time. Chandler also said that the compacted snow on the slopes will last longer into spring and summer‚ adding water to the aquifer at a critical time and helping streamflows later in the season. Because of that‚ groups like the Gallatin River Task Force‚ Trout Unlimited‚ American Rivers‚ Great Yellowstone Coalition and the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators all came out in favor of the project. Chandler estimates that the man-made snow will increase summer runoff in area creeks by about 19 days. Crushed by negative news? Sign up for the Reasons to be Cheerful newsletter. [contact-form-7] “The benefits of this project are actually an enhancement to the watershed function‚” said Pat Byorth‚ Montana water director for Trout Unlimited‚ in a press release. “It’s an enhancement to water supply‚ to water quality in the basin. So everybody from skiers to anglers will benefit from this‚ and downstream agriculture benefits at a time where water supply is uncertain.” In 2020‚ the Yellowstone Club applied for a permit from DEQ to expand that 2011 pilot program into a permanent snowmaking operation on Eglise Mountain. The following year‚ the state issued a permit allowing the Yellowstone Club to turn 25 million gallons of wastewater into snow annually. Two years and $12 million later‚ the new system began making snow last November. Under the current plan‚ 80 percent of the recycled water is coming from the community of Big Sky and 20 percent is coming from the Yellowstone Club. As part of its permit‚ the Yellowstone Club is required to erect signage warning visitors not to consume the snow. As winters get drier in the American West‚ Chandler said that turning wastewater into snow could be the key for ski areas across the region in the future. He said he hopes the club can set an example. “We hope that we can show other ski areas in the state what is possible‚” he said. “We might be the first‚ but I hope we aren’t the last.” The post Ski Resorts Are Turning Wastewater into Snow appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.